It was a memorable event this past Palm Sunday at the Port Lavaca Veterans Memorial that honors all area veterans. Memorial benches were installed between the military star points that completed the work of the memorial. If you get a chance please visit the memorial at the Port Lavaca Marina. Veteran memorial pavers are in the memorial representing over 800 veterans. There’s even a couple of Civil War veterans!

In 2014 Greg Falcon, chairman of the Calhoun County Veterans Council, along with Jesse Briseno and Jerry McClendon came up with the idea of creating a memorial for our veterans in Calhoun County. Jesse Briseno drew up a sketch of what the memorial would look like. Greg Falcon then presented the Port Lavaca City Council the drawing. With the support of other area veterans groups the plan for the memorial went forward. Funding came from individual donors as well as monies from the veteran memorial pavers. Greg Falcon commenting on the memorial said, “It is an ongoing project. The monies received from the memorial pavers help pay for the flags and the upkeep of the memorial. Each paver is $80. You can buy 5 for the price of 4. You can call me (Greg Falcon) at 361-920-3029 or Ron Langford at the Calhoun County Veteran’s Office at 361-553-4685.” -Tanya DeForest

CALHOUN COUNTY’S 2023 MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVANCE
DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 27TH
TIME: 10:00 AM
LOCATION: VETERAN’S MEMORIAL & PAVILLION at BAYFRONT PARK
HOSTED BY: CALHOUN COUNTY AMERICAN LEGION POST 167

EVENTS: 1. AMERICAN FLAG RETIREMENT CEREMONY
2. ROLL CALL OF CALHOUN COUNTY’S HONORED DEAD
3. HOT DOGS AND SOFT DRINKS SERVED AT
THE PAVILLION BY PORT LAVACA FIRE DEPARTMENT

Come support America.

Calhoun County writer’s guild is, basically, a gathering of published authors, aspiring writers, writer wannabes, young, medium, and senior folks that have an idea for a story they would like to put down on paper (or computer) and, possibly get it published or, maybe just document an event in their lives that they would like to pass on to their kids, grandkids, etc. We want everybody that is interested in writing a literary piece, novel, novella, short story, etc. to join us.
We meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays every month at the Calhoun County Public Library, 200 W Mahan St, Port Lavaca, TX 77979. Meeting time is from 6:30 p.m. till 8:00 p.m.

If you are working on a story, bring it with you and share it with us. If you have questions about writing, publishing, or anything about your or our stories, we will do our best to give you an answer or where to go to find an answer. (Or just grin and nod as if we don’t have a clue). The published authors can help with a lot of the dos and don’ts of publishing, editing, proofing, story lines, character descriptions, etc.

There are no dues, fees, or charges. Sooo, if you want to join us in this endeavor, send Daniel Harry an email. dan@ccwritersguild.com, or just come to our meeting. Hope to see you there!

Chelsea Lair

 
While the Saltwater Legends boats were racing 90 miles an hour down the Intercoastal, to be first at their honey hole, Chelsea Lair landed this 10lb plus, 27 3/4 inch redfish off the bulkhead in the Sanctuary.

The Crawfish Festival is just around the corner, April 29th to be exact, and we have initiated pre-sales for beer tickets and entry wristbands on our website. Don’t stand in those long lines, order early and pick up your tickets and wristbands on Friday, April 28th, from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at the pavilion or at the Will Call gate from 10:00-1:00 p.m. the day of the festival
.
During the festival, go check out the 2022 Polaris Ranger Premium SP250 the chamber is raffling off this year. Tickets will be $100, with only 500 sold. The drawing is scheduled for October 8, 2023, or sooner if we sell out of tickets. Other fun activities you won’t want to miss are the crawfish eating contest, cornhole tournament and horseshoe tournament. Get to the festival early to get your Peoples Choice wristband which entitles you to sample the cookers’ amazing crawfish. Plates of crawfish will also be sold for $25.00. Come early and hungry.

As we mentioned last month, the Port O’Connor Chamber of Commerce has partnered with the Nueces River Authority in cleaning up our Beaches and Bays. The UP2U yellow litter bags will be placed in boxes near the Kingfisher pier, along Kingfisher Park, the little jetties and other strategic places to help collect litter. We are providing the bags free of charge, in hopes that you will grab one to collect your trash in and place in the trash cans in the area. Please help us keep our beaches and bays clean and free of trash!

We welcome our new and renewing members, Paddle POC – your local kayak rental agency, not to mention authorized dealer of old town and ocean kayaks. POC Fish Camp – Recreational RV Park with on premises boat storage. Harbor Vista- Phase 1, 34 new development lots in a gated community in Port O’ Connor. Roberts, Odefey, Witte and Wall-Law firm that can handle all your litigation needs. Screaming Seagull Services – offering handyman, carpenter, and odd jobs. Inteplast Group Corp – An integrated plastics manufacturer whose products support diverse markets. Espiritu Santo Bay Resort – A subdivision with 42 lots in Port O’Connor in a small fishing town, Port O’Connor. Diamond B Lodge – Airbnb lodging, Rents Daily, Weekly or Monthly. Nielsen Family Dental – Dental Practice in Port Lavaca servicing your family’s dental needs. Coastal Nail & Tool – Building supply center specializing in Marine Construction as well as home building materials. Warriors Weekend – Is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 Corporation dedicated to the support of veterans of The United States of America with an emphasis on those wounded in The Global War on Terrorism. Coastal Lawn & Maintenance – Complete yard care services. Lester Contracting -Provides heavy/civil construction services including site preparation, utilities, excavation and earth-moving, and much more. Tracy Pershall, Realtor – Specializing in land, home sales, and secondary/vacation home sales., Mowdy Boats – Manufacture of premium, custom made-to-order bay boats.

For more information on each of these businesses as well as our other chamber members please go to our website at www.portoconnorchamber.com.